CH 52

Editor: noot

Proofreader: XavierForest

Su Tang’s sleep was unruly, and he tended to be inclined to roll about atop the blanket. Sometimes he’d wake up from the cold to find the room a mess, with his blanket strewn messily across the floor. Apparently, he’d have kicked it away in the middle of the night because he never slept well.

No matter where he slept, he couldn’t get rid of this bad habit.

Today was no different. Su Tang shifted twice in Qian Zhu’s arms before suddenly kicking his little leg around and sending the blanket to his feet. Only then did Su Tang manage to continue sleeping comfortably. Under the impression that he’d gotten too warm, Qian Zhu refrained from laying the blanket back on Su Tang.

It wasn’t long before the cold crept in again, and Su Tang, still in a daze, had no idea where his blanket had disappeared to—only that there was a warm presence beside him. He snuggled deeper into Qian Zhu’s arms until he found the cosiest position, and then he stuck his leg between Qian Zhu’s. His mouth was open and his eyebrows were furrowed. He looked like a little chick that had almost frozen to death. 

Then Qian Zhu finally reacted. He reached out to rub Su Tang’s little foot, which was ice-cold. It appeared he was freezing. He covered Su Tang with the blanket before pulling that leg out from between his.

Still, Su Tang refused to comply. Even though Qian Zhu helped him adjust his posture, he immediately reverted to his original one and was even more defiant this time. He hooked his leg tightly around Qian Zhu’s waist, causing Qian Zhu’s breathing to quicken.

Young people were like that; outwardly, they were innocent and in love, but inwardly, they were completely different. When two young people shared a bed, they were bound to get excited unconsciously, especially when the other was being particularly provocative. It was hard to control.

Though Qian Zhu took in a sharp breath, his heart continued to race. It was late at night, and the room was so silent he could hear the rhythm of his own hurried heartbeat. Su Tang persisted with rubbing against Qian Zhu, the experience both sweet and torturous . 

Qian Zhu reached out to caress Su Tang’s foot. The skin was smooth and a little cold, rather like a piece of jade. He was reluctant to let go.

He inched his fingers ever so gently along that body, the delicate skin under his touch sending shivers of excitement down his spine. He nervously lowered his eyes  and found Su Tang unfazed by his touch. In fact, he was so comfortable that his mouth was wide open; Su Tang’s carefree demeanor tugged at Qian Zhu’s heartstrings.

Qian Zhu drew closer and closer, to the point where he could feel Su Tang’s soft breathing and see his rosy lips. It seemed that if he moved even slightly, he could taste the sweetness.

However, he stopped in his tracks. The guilt from his impure thoughts was immobilising. When excitement collided with guilt, it would bring a lot of unspeakable feelings. Qian Zhu knew that he should withdraw, but he let temptation get the better of him and just quietly laid there, enjoying those magical feelings.

On a quiet, cold night, two people shared a bed—one slept soundly while the other couldn’t sleep at all.

As the sun rose, Qian Zhu grew drowsier, and he eventually closed his eyes and followed Su Tang into dreamland.

Then, he had a marvellous dream.

He dreamt that he was in a peach forest, surrounded by falling petals. A subtle fragrance wafted through the air as he sauntered through that forest. There was a sense of familiarity to his surroundings; he recalled it looked a lot like the peach forest where he’d met Su Tang.

But Su Tang was nowhere to be found. He looked around, extremely anxious.

Where was his little peach? Did he lose the little peach?

Qian Zhu yelled out for Su Tang, panic gnawing at his heart. He yelled and searched for a long time before he finally heard soft sobs coming from behind a tall peach tree.

Su Tang hugged his knees to his chest as he sat behind the tree, his eyes full of tears. With his entire body trembling, he looked especially fragile. Su Tang couldn’t help but bawl upon seeing Qian Zhu, his former quiet cries quickly turning into violent sobbing. He rushed into Qian Zhu’s arms, inconsolable. 

He cried for a long time and could barely catch his breath to tell Qian Zhu that he’d been wronged. It was as if Su Tang was blaming Qian Zhu for losing him in the forest and making him cry so embarrassingly. He cried until he was breathless, and it was hard to look at. 

Qian Zhu apologised profusely but Su Tang kept on crying. His mind raced to find a way to console Su Tang until, in the end, he lowered his head and pressed his lips against Su Tang’s, breathing oxygen into his mouth.

Su Tang didn’t reject him, his eyes wide open in shock. He looked like an innocent little deer caught in the headlights; Qian Zhu couldn’t help but feel himself growing hot. Slowly, the exchange of air turned into a deep kiss. Their tongues grazed against each other and the sweetness drove Qian Zhu mad. 

When Qian Zhu pulled away, Su Tang’s face glowed as red as a ripe peach. It was especially eye-catching. While he had stopped crying, his eyebrows were still furrowed. Qian Zhu asked him what was wrong, which prompted Su Tang’s cheeks to blush an even brighter shade of red.

When Qian Zhu was confused and suddenly lowered his head, Su Tang tried to hide himself, making him chuckle.

Qian Zhu took Su Tang into his embrace. He kissed his hair, then his eyes, and finally his neck.

Their clothes were peeled off and left scattered all over the floor, but no one went to pick them up. Soon came the sounds of low whispers and soft gasps.

After he woke up, Qian Zhu’s mind was still cloudy. It was his first spring dream1, and it caused his thoughts to be all over the place as well as giving him a great sense of shame. Qian Zhu adjusted his breathing and looked down to see Su Tang’s knee pressing against that area between his legs. He drew in a deep breath, well aware that it was moments away from standing up.

He hurriedly shut his eyes. A few moments passed before he decided to take a peek; all he did was see Su Tang’s sleeping face and he couldn’t help but recount that charming dream he’d just had.

Su Tang let out a little cry, rousing Qian Zhu from his daze. He felt the urge to get up but was afraid he’d wake Su Tang. He gingerly separated himself from Su Tang’s arms, which were wound around his torso, and removed the foot from between his legs before silently getting off the bed.

Su Tang continued to sleep in Qian Zhu’s bed over the next few days. At first, Su Tang would find excuses to do so, however he eventually claimed the bed as his own and would lay in it to chat with Qian Zhu. When Su Tang chatted with people, he liked to look in the other’s eyes, but Qian Zhu had been avoiding his gaze for the past few days.

Although Su Tang didn’t notice it at first, as Qian Zhu’s eyes darted around more rapidly, he began to find it a little weird. He couldn’t understand why but was too embarrassed to ask Qian Zhu, so he turned to the system for help.

In its heart, the system spoke about how this guy likely had feelings for Su Tang, along with thoughts of doing unspeakable things to him—this made Qian Zhu behave strangely. Besides, the system had witnessed the couple’s escapades in the other worlds; it had plenty of knowledge regarding their relationship. 

But it couldn’t actually say that. On one hand, it wanted to ramble on about Qian Zhu’s agenda, but on the other, it wanted to take revenge on the male lead. After all, he had abducted its little ancestor one too many times.

“I don’t know ah. Why don’t you ask him?” The system finally said.

“Ai, forget it.” Su Tang shook his head. He didn’t know how to ask. He sighed, feeling a little disappointed.

He’d thought he and Qian Zhu were already very close, so Su Tang couldn’t believe that he was hiding things from him. However, based on Qian Zhu’s expression, what he was hiding wasn’t good.

Several more days passed and Qian Zhu kept at his distant demeanor. Su Tang thought about all the things Qian Zhu could possibly be hiding. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed that Qian Zhu was harbouring some form of hatred towards him. His heart was unwilling to accept it, thus he’d made playing with Qian Zhu an everyday affair, secretly warming Qian Zhu up to him.

He was under the impression Qian Zhu was his, but alas, later the other party said he had to descend to the human realm for experience, ultimately leaving Su Tang alone in Yu Qing Palace.

In fact, Su Tang knew that Qian Zhu would leave for practice every other day, but his absence today was not a coincidence. At first glance, it was obvious that Qian Zhu was avoiding him. Su Tang’s simple mind was at a loss. He looked at Qian Zhu’s face and wordlessly agreed.

The day before Qian Zhu left, he’d gone out for a while, leaving Su Tang laying in the bed with the blanket wrapped around himself. He slept for a long time, and when he woke up, it was already evening. He looked around the empty room and he couldn’t help but cry.

He wept himself tired and wiped his face twice, then he closed his eyes and emptied his mind. Not long after, he heard familiar footsteps coming from outside the room.

“Baby slept so well.” Qian Zhu mumbled to himself as he leant down and quietly watched Su Tang sleep. 

Qian Zhu’s long and watchful stare was palpable, his gaze almost enveloping Su Tang. Before Su Tang could end his sleeping charade, Qian Zhu sighed and raised a hand.

Su Tang’s heart rate increased. He was a little nervous and felt something on his own wrist. It should be a silk thread, but the feeling was a little different. Qian Zhu was fixated on tying the thread, and he adjusted it before placing Su Tang’s wrist down.

Su Tang’s heart inexplicably continued to thump inside his chest. Just as he thought Qian Zhu was done, he felt a softness brush against his face.

A hot breath caressed Su Tang’s face too quickly for him to decipher the sensation. He could barely react before Qian Zhu kissed his lips.

Su Tang’s heart skipped a beat. Unknowingly, he opened his eyes.

“You… You kissed me?” He stammered, baffled.

Qian Zhu was shocked and he quickly got up. He saw Su Tang’s eyes fill with disbelief as they stared at him. Too alarmed to think, he said, “Y – Yes…”